Christmas 2017 was undoubtedly a happier period than last year. GAME today reported that its GTV figure (Gross Transaction Value) over the peak trading period (1st November to 6th of January) was up by 2.9 per cent. Something it attributed to a stronger hardware lineup and superior games.

Martyn Gibbs, GAME Digital Chief Executive Officer, said: “This positive sales performance for our Peak Trading Period was driven by our ability to capitalise on the strong customer demand for Nintendo Switch, the continued adoption of PlayStation hardware and VR sales, the launch of Microsoft’s Xbox One X and a more appealing lineup of new software titles compared to the same time last year.”

That said, the wider picture was less rosy, with the 23 weeks up to the 6th of January seeing a rather flatter 0.6 per cent rise. Though the momentum is still in the right direction, and as we discussed with Gibbs late last year, the company will create significant operating savings during this year - largely thanks to the renegotiation of many long-running, and onerous, leases.

The figures are largely inline with GfK's figures for the whole physical market for 2017 which it said were up by 2.1 per cent overall.

The news was even better for GAME's Spanish arm with peak trading up 6.3 per cent peak, and an even more impressive 6.6 per cent over the 23 week period. So it seems things are rosier over on the continent when it comes to physical game sales. That bump put GAME up by 5.2 per cent overall for the peak period and 3.8 per cent for the 23 weeks. With performance like that, the company should consider further expansion into Europe.

“I would like to thank the teams across the UK and Spain who have once again worked exceptionally hard serving our customers and gaming communities over the busiest period of the year. We also recognise the valuable and ongoing support from our supplier partners in delivering our competitive proposition.”